For the First, but Not the Last
by The Extraordinary Girl
Summary: Ron surprises Hermione in Australia.


**A/N: Welcome to my first story! I hope you all enjoy it, and please feel free to review!**

**Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, am not J.K. Rowling, so none of these characters are mine.**

...

_"What on earth am I doing?"_

It had seemed like such a good idea three weeks ago, when Hermione was so desperate to see her parents again. She figured it was about time to bring them back, anyway. The war had been over for six months. She'd had her mourning period, her recovery period. And now, seeing her parents again would definetly make her whole.

She had planned on going alone. No need to involve anyone else in yet another event that they needn't be apart of. Harry, Ron, and the rest of the Weasleys had enough on their minds and their hearts. To add another worry would be almost cruel.

She should have know that Ron would think the exact opposite.

"Are you _mental_?" He had said when she told him of her plan. She was hoping for a little more support, especially from him.

"How is wanting to see my parents again and give them their memory back _mental_, Ronald? They're safe now! No one is around to try and hurt them anymore, so why is it so wrong that I want to bring them back home?"

She must have looked as hurt as she felt, because his eyes automatically softened as he reached out to pull her closer to him.

"No, no of course not- What I meant- I mean- Do you really want to go all by yourself? There _are_ still some crazies out there who would have a field day if they found you in a foreign country all alone."

She'd known that, of course, but she'd more or less pushed it out of her mind. Reuniting her family was her main concern, and she was willing to take the risks.

"I can handle myself, Ron. Besides, it'd be silly to involve anymore people for such a trivial task. It's not important to anyone except me."  
>"Well, you're wrong there, love." he said, wrapping his arms around her slim waist. "If it's this important to you, then it's important to me too. And I would feel loads better if you'd just let me come with you."<p>

He had really grown up in this past year. He went from being the goofy, irresponsible lad she had first fell for to the strong, brave, loyal man she was so in love with. Of course, he didn't actually _know_ about the whole "being in love" part, but he would. The time wasn't right now. There was too much going on. When she finally told him, she wanted it to be special.

And so she agreed, it really would be better if she had someone there with her, because Merlin knows it wouldn't be easy. Not just the enchantment itself, which was overly complex, but the emotional aspect as well.

That's when the doubts started. But, like everything else that wasn't concerning her family, she pushed it out of her mind, focusing solely on getting to Australia.

But now, here they were, and everything she'd been pushing out of her mind for three weeks came flooding back in in a millisecond, drenching her in doubt and fear like a cold shower. What if she couldn't fix it? What if she could, but they wanted to stay here in their new lives? What if they hated her because of what she did, regardless of the fact that it was to protect them? What if they threw her out before she could explain everything?

She stood rooted on the spot outside of the Wilkens residence, paralysed in her thoughts. Ron was there next to her, and thank God too, because she knew she would have turned around and gone home had he not been there to support her. After 10 minutes of agony, he turned her around, lifting her chin so her watery brown eyes were staring straight into his determined blue ones.

"Listen, Hermione," he said in that voice that she had only heard when she was extremely distressed. It's almost as if he knew that all she need right now was a soothing whisper, no extreme fierceness or scolding. "You're the brightest witch in our year. Hell, in our whole _generation_, I'd reckon! There's no doubt that you'll be able to give them their memories back, and everything will be back to normal."

"But what if I do and they don't want to leave? They seem awfully happy here. And what if they resent me for sending them off in the first place?"

"They won't. Your their daughter, they know that you'd never do anything to hurt them, at least not intentionally. You'll be fine, I promise."

And he pulled her into him, embracing her in his strong arms. The only arms she felt one hundred per cent safe in. She sighed. Perhaps he was right. As long as she explained herself, why would her parents have a reason to hate her?

Ron kissed the top of her head and muttered something into her bushy hair. She looked up at him quizzically, not catching what he had said.

He caressed her cheek with his right hand, and looked at her with a look that screamed tenderness and adoration.

"I-" he started. "I just-good luck." he said fianlly, though he looked rather frustrated with himself.

"Thank you." She smiled as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. She took a deep breath, turned around, and trekked up the path to the wooden front door.

Three knocks. A rustle of papers from within. A squeak of floor boards. An open door.

...

She was floating, absolutely flying through the air with happiness she felt. A great burden had been lifted, and she felt she could finally be at peace. She had them back. Her parents understood why she did what she did, and where more than happy to come back to England with their daughter. She couldn't remember being this happy. Not even when she got her acceptance letter to Hogwarts, or when she found out that Ron had broken up with Lavender. She was in a state of euphoria that only happened a handful of times in ones lifetime.

Her emotions must have been infectious. As soon as she met Ron on the corner of her parents street, he started grinning like mad as well. She ran at him, flinging her arms around his neck, letting her tears of happiness fall freely. He hugged her back with as much fierceness, completely encasing her in warmth. He kissed the top of her head repeatedly, muttered something again, and set her down to wipe away her tears. She gave him the same look she had before.

"You know, it's a lot easier to hear the things you say when you're not speaking into my birdsnest of hair." she said playfully. She could see his ears starting to turn pink.

"Oh, that- Well I- it's just that-" He couldn't seem to form coherent thoughts.

"Go on, out with it." she said, looking at him with mock sternness.

He looked back at her, but with a new kind of emotion. It wasn't something she'd seen on him before, but it suited him. He just looked at her for a long time, and she could feel her cheeks redden under his gaze.

Finally, he took a deep breath, looked straight into her puzzeled eyes, and said something that almost knocked her out.

"I love you."

Her breath caught. It took her a bit to form the thoughts that got her lungs working again. She was stunned. Completely, utterly floored. If she was floating before, she felt like she was walking in the stratosphere now. She couldn't make her mouth work just yet, so she cotinued to stare at him. Is this real? Had the boy she'd loved since she was 11 really said exactly how she had been feeling? Had he finally plucked up the courage to get her first, and not as a last resort?

He was getting worried, she could tell. His eyes started darting all around, looking for something, anything, to direct her attention from the momumental step he'd just taken. His whole head was on fire now, and she knew that if she didn't do something soon, he'd most likely pass out.

So she reached up, brought her hands behind his neck, and poured every possible emotion she had into one, passionate, perfect kiss. He was surprised at first, but she felt him relax as they melted into each other, two halves of a whole finally joining together.

They stayed that way for a long time. Mostly because neither of them wanted it to end. When they finally broke apart, he looked down at her. She could see that tenderness again, but there was still a bit of anxiety in those pools of blue.

She smiled up at him radiantly and playfully slapped him on the arm.

"I wanted to say that first, you prat."

His face broke into that crooked smile that made her heart melt, and she couldn't help but laugh. He picked her up, whirrled her around in his glee, and kissed her again, letting her know exaclty what he was thinking without any words.

And though she didn't get to say it first as she had hoped she would, she knew that she'd have many more times to say it to her hearts content.

This was the first, but most definitely not the last.

...

**Thanks for reading!**


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